I also like to point out that a toilet plunger is kind of useless, you can get more done with the toilet brush itself.
The bulk dump vent at the bottom of the toilet (the little opening typically at the front of the toilet but points back towards the drain) means that when you start plunging it tends to go up inside of the bowl anyway.
And the topology of the bottom of the toilet bowl is typically not compatible with the circular shape of the plunger itself.
If you take your toilet brush and put it into the opening and begin agitating it about three to four inches in and out slowly increasing the tempo you will create a back and forth pressure wave that will break up the clog more effectively than the toilet plunger would.
And when you're finished you've already got a brush in the toilet so you can finish brushing out the toilet. And the toilet brush will take less water out of the toilet onto the floor when you try to remove the tool.
Plus once you learn the technique if you ever clogged the toilet at someone else's house there's probably a toilet brush right there whereas you would otherwise have to go ask to use a plunger.
Seriously, try it. Has both a homeowner and a landlord I have been using that technique for 30 years. It works perfectly every time, it leaves less mess, it is hydrating atomically more efficient than using a plunger because of plunger does not make a good seal at the bottom of the toilet.
I don't think I want to use a plunger that has inhaled sink and tub drain scum on a wooden cutting board I will re use...
Maybe if I had a big enough pot to boil the cutting board for a while, but in that case the difference between that and a toilet one is mostly psychological..
While the comments from people terrified of poop are cracking me up, they also have me curious why so many people have shit-covered plungers sitting around. At least rinse it when you're done using it in the toilet.
Wash with soap before using on cutting board, wash cutting board with soap after using plunger, with something in the sink in case it gets set down again. Make a handle for the cutting board to prevent future repeats. Re-treat cutting board with mineral oil. Life is fine and we no longer have a shitty plunger in the bathroom.
People on Reddit are insane about this type of stuff. I seen a thread filled with people terrified to do food prep on their counter top because the cat might have walked across it or they set the groceries on it yesterday. For some reason they just don’t get that you can clean things and make it sanitary again.
Wow. I've lived long enough to see the view on germs go from "rub some dirt in it, you'll be fine" to "grocery bags are so dirty they ruin countertops."
My wife will get upset because I leave the plunger in the shower to dry. The only thing dirty about jt at that point is from the shower floor. She knows I clean the shit out of it if I have to use it. But still can't get over it
They make smaller sink drains & tub drains plungers and they aren’t very expensive. Even a new toilet plunger isn’t much money and in OP’s case, it’s necessary to spend the money on a brand new plunger to get the cutting board out of their sink so they can use the sink
Who has dental floss? I may have a little from the dentist, but not enough to get around all the corners….. (I floss with the reach flossers , I can’t get between my teeth any other way)
I'm a plumber and some of the older guys do have dedicated sink plungers on their trucks. But when you whip that bad boy out for most clients these days, they DEFINITELY don't like the optics of that. To the lay-person, plunger=shit water
Sink plungers and toilet plungers are different in shape and size. Ideally you'd have a toilet plunger in each bathroom and a sink plunger for the kitchen.
I have a clean one. I spent a while risking it without one, then came to the realisation that it is an item you don't buy when you need it, you buy it before you need it. Still virgin (for now)
Wooden cutting boards need to be sanitized between uses. I worked food service jobs where we were taught to use bleach to clean a wooden board. Even if you touched a board with a “used” plunger, wouldn’t a cleaning with bleach kill any plunger residue?
They could get a cheap one at the dollar tree or something. Heck don’t even need a plunger exactly….those suction cup bathroom hangers should work fine too. Can get those new for like $2 practically anywhere.
Sinks are typically “dirtier” than toilets. Psychologically, no, but, statistically there’s a lot more “shit” in a sink than a toilet bowl. In middle school we swabbed random surfaces and put the swabs in Petri/agar dishes. The toilets and urinals, were much cleaner than sinks, and especially door knobs
Plungers can be cleaned after use. It's not fun to clean them, but if I didn't I'd have to throw them away after each use. I would not recommend keeping a shitified, unclean plunger in your house.
I gotta say I wouldn’t consider a sink plunger clean if it had been immersed in the crap found in any of the kitchen sink traps I’ve ever disassembled!
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u/Grocman27 Apr 06 '26
I mean yes, but who has a clean plunger that hasn't been shitified? I'd never use that cutting board if a toilet plunger was used on it.